'He’ll make a good president, but he’s not going to help us.' What Newark really thinks of Cory Booker.

It’s no secret.Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)is thinking about running for president, having already visited 24 states during midterm elections, including stops that would be key in early primaries.

But in Newark, where he was mayor for seven years, there are mixed opinions on whether or not the politician should seek the country's top job.

We hit the streets of the Brick City to see what those back home think of the politician's potential aspirations.

Larry Walden, a retired Newark detective and police officer who worked under three mayors, believes Booker has nothing to lose by considering a run.

“He can’t do no worse than what we’ve got now,’’ said Walden from a barber chair at the Wright Cut Beauty and Barber Salon on Clinton Avenue.

“He’s one of the stronger candidates who (wants) to run.’’

Fuquhn White, 52, understands Booker has right to seek higher office, but he’s not a fan – at all.

“He’s not concerned with our struggle," said White while eating breakfast at King’s Family Restaurant on Clinton Avenue. “He did a lot to gain popularity on a national level," for himself and not the city, he said.

His national spotlight, however, is what 23-year-old Jared Boone says put Newark on the map in a positive way.

“He opened the city of Newark to a whole bunch of people from the outside, people who probably would have never come to Newark," Boone said.

Boone, a history teacher at St. Benedict’s Preparatory School in Newark, said he’s heard the criticism that Booker doesn’t seem genuine.

It’s a perception, however, that Boone hasn’t seen or experienced.

“I’ve never found him to be disingenuous," said Boone, who campaigned for Booker’s senate run. “He really believes everything he says."

News that Booker is considering a presidential campaign probably made Shirlene Ringo’s meal that much better as she was leaving Kings the other day.

A Newark native who now lives in Pleasantville, Ringo said Booker has her vote, hands down.

“A thousand percent," Ringo said.

“I like his willingness and dedication and seriousness."

And, he’s young. Many in leadership positions, Ringo said, are old and do not represent the country’s demographics.

None of that matters to 99-year-old Elise Figueireto, who took a break from knitting at Newark’s Ironbound Recreation Center to talk about the former Brick City mayor.

She praised Booker for his ability to speak “off the cuff," and acknowledges that he’s a “likable and very smart man."

Then, came the all important, "but" --

“Is he there for the little person?" she asked. "No."

She said he didn’t help the seniors in Ironbound after he became mayor when they raised complaints about services for them in the East Ward.

“I think he’ll make a good president, but he’s not going to help us," Figueireto said.

As mayor and a Central Ward councilman, Booker was visible in the city. He could be seen jogging through the neighborhood. He’d make unannounced visits to police precincts and rode around with his security detail during early morning hours.

When he was a councilman, he camped out at Garden Spires, a high-rise apartment building that had been taken over by drug dealers. The outdoor move, which drew lots of media attention, was an attempt to improve the neighborhood. Arrests were made at the complex while he was mayor, but problems still remained after he left to be a senator.

Dekieta Nuhic, a resident there now, said Booker could have done more at Garden Spires and other areas in the city.

“He (Booker) is a great person. I like him as senator," Nuhic said. “But anything beyond that I don’t think it would work. There are a lot of elected officials that I like, but that doesn’t mean they deserve that position.’’

But, the progressive Democrat still has a cheering section in Robbie Little and Kimberly Brown. They paused for a moment in Shoprite on Springfield Avenue to give him a thumbs up.

“He’s going to keep Newark on his plate. He’s not going to forget us," Little said.

Bill Werner, a senior citizen spending time at the Vince Lombardi Center of Hope on Bloomfield Avenue, thinks otherwise. He questionedwhat happened to the Facebook moneythat Newark received to help the city’s schools.

“I don’t think he’s qualified for president right now," Werner said. “Maybe later on if he could do a little more."

Trina Townes was in Cut Creators Unisex Hair Salon on Halsey Street, giving Booker the benefit of the doubt.

“Maybe he’ll take some of the stuff that he did do for Newark and put it in the White House," Townes said. “Maybe he’ll bring something different to the table."

Luis Sanchez, a Newark resident and manager at D’ Willie Barbershop on Fourth Avenue, said Booker was a “great mayor,” but his presidential aspiration is too soon to pursue.

“That’s a big jump," Sanchez said.

If he does run, Geraldine Brown offered this advice after several games of bingo at the Ironbound Recreation Center.